Darren Rizzi has held two head coaching jobs in a career that began as a graduate assistant at Colgate in 1993.

Could a third opportunity be in the offing for the New Jersey native and Bergen Catholic Hall of Famer?

Well, if some of the players Rizzi has coached in the past and present have a say, the answer is yes.

Rizzi is expected to interview for the vacancy with the Miami Dolphins this week, and he appears to be the only member from recently-fired head coach Adam Gase's staff to receive consideration.

The 48-year-old Hillsdale native served as assistant head coach and special teams coordinator under Gase since 2016, and Rizzi has held the special teams coordinator position with the franchise for the last eight years through three different tenures.

Rizzi was inducted into the Bergen Catholic Hall of Fame in 2013. He finished his high school career with the Crusaders with 69 receptions, establishing a school record that stood for 22 years.

"It's about time someone recognizes how good Darren Rizzi is," Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Jason Taylor tweeted last week. Taylor played under Rizzi with the Dolphins, and the six-time Pro Bowler also spent time with the Redskins and the Jets.

"Glad to see he's getting a look. Played for him and have known him for years. Great coach, leader, pro and teacher. Demands accountability and respect."

It’s about time someone recognizes how good Darren Rizzi is. Glad to see he’s getting a look. Played for him and have known him for years. Great coach, leader, pro and teacher. Demands accountability and respect https://t.co/97gL2AG4d3

Giants safety and special teams captain Michael Thomas, also chimed in via Twitter: "Great to see Special Teams Coordinators get Head Coaching opportunities. Especially Coach Riz! Players love him because he commands respect from everyone! He’s relatable from the practice squad player to the highest paid guy. He always had us prepared. Pray you get your shot Riz."

Rizzi joined the Dolphins with four years of experience as a college head coach, including the 2008 season at the University of Rhode Island. Prior to taking over the program at URI, Rizzi was a top assistant on Greg Schiano's staff at Rutgers for the previous six seasons (2002-07).

Before his stint at Rutgers, Rizzi was the head coach at the University of New Haven, where he guided the Chargers to a three-year record of 15-14 from 1999-2001.

Rizzi discussed the prospects of becoming a head coach in the NFL during a December news conference with reporters in Miami, giving a nod to current head coaches such as the Baltimore Ravens' John Harbaugh, whose coaching background came in special teams.

Man I thinking about this yesterday. There’s no one more qualified for the Dolphins than Riz.

"It’s a difficult thing for a special teams coach. It takes a lot of faith in the front office and an owner because you’re stepping outside the box a little bit," Rizzi said. "My feeling on it is special teams coaches may be as well prepared as anybody to run a football team. You’re the only guy in the building that’s really dealing with the entire football team. You’re coaching everybody. You’re dealing with situations and game management, those types of things. I think there are a lot of qualified special teams coaches right now in the league that would be terrific head coaches."

“I’ve been fortunate to be a head coach in college. That was a great experience. Certainly, if that opportunity presents itself down the road when the season’s over, those are always things you’re going to look at," Rizzi said, adding, "It’s something that as I look forward in my personal career, it’s something that I want to do again down the road, to be a head coach again. I had a great experience doing it. I loved doing it.

"I think with the role I have here on this football team is preparing me to be a head coach because I deal with the players every day. I deal with the game management part of the game. ... It’s really helping my personal resume in terms of learning on the job and dealing with the management, the game management, the time management. All of that stuff is really preparing me. I think when that opportunity presents itself, I’ll be very well prepared and be ready to go.”